I'm going to drop soy for a while to see if it has been causing some minor issues I've been having. I'm having a sadness because I love tofu and depend a bit on TVP and soy milk for easy protein.

Does anyone have any suggestions of any soy-free blogs or books with some awesome simple (I have a four month old! He won't nap!) recipes with easy to find ingredients? I live in the largest town in the immediate area. Population is roughly 4000. Specialty ingredients are rare. Blogs are preferred because I don't have to request them from the library and wait, but great books would be awesome too.

And a specific question, what would be a great easy thing to use as a "crumble" instead of TVP? Mostly for sausage type crumbles in gravy for biscuits or to sprinkle on a pizza, that sort of thing? I've been totally happy with the taste/texture of finely chopped mushrooms but they don't provide any protein.

I'm guessing you don't have access to vital wheat gluten? cause making seitan would probably be the best sausage/crumble type sub. but you could also use beans and lentils. you could maybe cook lentils in a pan with the same ingredients as the tempeh sausage crumbles in VWAV and then add them to gravy or on top of pizza. Maybe a combo of lentils and mushrooms. For biscuits and gravy, you could make a bean based gravy for protein.

I'll try to find some links. So far the recipes I'm thinking of are in vegan with a vengeance and vegan brunch.

_________________I am not a troll. I am TELLING YOU THE ******GOD'S TRUTH****** AND YOU JUST DON'T WANT THE HEAR IT DO YOU?

I hadn't heard of bean gravy. I did some googling and that looks like a pretty great idea, thanks.

I never cook lentils but...I have no idea why. I should get some. I know they come in different varieties and colors, are certain types better for certain things? I'm kind of embarrassed that I don't know the answer to that.

I do have access to vital wheat gluten but it is fairly expensive and I haven't had awesome luck making seitan. It always seems to come out somewhat...weird, although I suppose that would be less noticeable if I were grinding and highly spicing it. Can seitan be frozen okay?

Red lentils break down to mush when you cook them, so they're good for thick soups, curries, and for adding protein to, for example, a tomato-based pasta sauce. Brown lentils will hold their shape and are probably best as your "meaty" tvp replacement. The PPK has a yummy recipe for ancho lentil taco filling that uses brown lentils. Does it mimic ground beef? No, not really. But it's delicious and protein-rich. I'm not a mushroom fan myself, but ijdi's suggestion of mushrooms and lentils in combo sounds like it would be pretty "meaty" in terms of taste and texture.

If you're having trouble making seitan, a good place to start is any of the steamed sausage recipes. It's easy to mess up simmered seitan, but steamed is super foolproof.

Yes, you can freeze seitan. And do try lentils - you're really missing out if you haven't been eating them! Look up some dal recipes.

Do you do much with garbanzos? I like them in countless ways, but hummus the best. And it is super easy to make your own and then freeze the excess. Everyone also seems to love Veganomicon's chickpea cutlets, made from garbanzos and gluten flour.

Good luck!

_________________Formerly Kaleicious. I still love kale, but no more than lots of other garden greens too! Orach is currently my favorite.